1. $2 off Debbie Macomber Christmas Cookbook

Loved the Christmas Eve Eggnog recipe I posted this week? Do you have a big Debbie Macomber fan on your Christmas list? Why not gift them with the Debbie Macomber Christmas Cookbook? From Dec. 14 – 21 you can save $2 off the cover price of the book with this exclusive coupon. The book is full of both recipes and crafts that you can use to create new traditions or provide fun alternatives to your own.

2. Carina Press Here Be Magic – the new Fantasy blog from Carina Press authors!

From December 17th through December 24th, Here Be Magic (a blog comprised of Carina Press fantasy and paranormal authors) will be running an amazing contest to celebrate the season of giving. Prizes include a brand new Kindle Fire, a virtual basket filled with over two dozen Carina Press titles, and a $25.00 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winner’s choice). No hoops to jump through, all it takes is a comment, so swing by http://herebemagic.blogspot.com/ starting December 17th to enter!

3. Carina Press’ Sea of Suspicion is now on sale in print!

Toni Anderson’s Sea of Suspicion is now on sale in print at Harlequin.com. We love when Carina Press titles move into print. We hope you’ll check out Toni’s novel!

Marine biologist Susie Cooper traded her life in America for a dream job on the rugged Scottish coast. Now all she lacks is the right man to start a family with. After their first meeting, she knows sexy Detective Inspector Nick Archer isn’t what she’s looking for. He’s the type of guy whose idea of commitment is staying the whole night.
Nick has returned to St. Andrews for one reason only—to fulfill his vow to find his wife’s killer. Relentless in his twelve-year quest for justice, he has no problem using Susie to get close to his primary suspect: her boss. But the passion between them smolders, and as it ignites, Nick finds himself torn between his past and his present—with Susie.
When one of her boss’s students is murdered, Nick’s investigation draws Susie into a web of madness and betrayal. They will have to learn to trust each other if they’re going to catch a killer…and come out of this alive.

And if you’re interested in more Carina Press titles in print, Marie Force’s Fatal Affair is still available.

4. Harlequin.com: Holidays@Harlequin: 12 Deals, 12 Gifts

Well, it’s hard to believe, but the 12 deals of Christmas are over. HOWEVER! There are still plenty of Gifts to come, so you should keep checking back to the Santa Tree for more deals. Visit Harlequin.com to check on today’s!

5. FREE Linda Lael Miller Cowboy Wallpaper

Alright, the moment you’re waiting for! Thinking about changing your desktop wallpaper to something a little more manly? How about this FREE wallpaper from Linda Lael Miller’s McKettricks of Texas series? Sexy as all sin and did I mention that it’s totally, utterly FREE? You can download it from Facebook today!

Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins book trailer

I leave you today with the new (to me!) book trailer for Kristan Higgins’ Until There Was You (HQN Books). Kristan’s a big name around the Romance Mothership because her covers have been graced by some adorable pups. Check out the video to see more from Mumford, the latest “star” of her novel! (Rumour has it the next canine cover model is going to be pretty large too! Any guesses what kind of pooch it will be?) And in case you’re wondering, Kristan Higgins’ novels make great Christmas presents!

When I was younger, the majority of my Christmas traditions were Polish. We ate fish on Christmas eve, looked for the first star in the sky that evening, and, having found it, opened presents! Then my family expanded and our regular Polish traditions melded with new (to us) Canadian traditions, such as turkey stuffing, Christmas stockings and (my favourite) eggnog.

Now, you can always find eggnog readily available in the supermarket at this time of year. But it isn’t actually that difficult to make your own–and you get to learn how to do more fun kitchen techniques like emulsifying eggs in the process! (Okay, so maybe I’m a bit of a foodie nerd.) I was quite pleased when I discovered this recipe for Christmas Eve Eggnog in the Debbie Macomber Christmas Cookbook. I can always count on Debbie to bring a little extra holiday cheer into any recipe. She’s the Queen of Christmas, after all! The recipe is not difficult to follow and it’s a perfect addition to any holiday party you’re planning, including the most important one of all, whether it be on Dec. 24th or 25th!

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• Salt
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Garnishes: Ground nutmeg, chocolate shavings, cinnamon sticks

Method:

1. Place a large bowl in a larger bowl of ice water; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar until thick, for about 2 minutes.

3. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, bring milk, vanilla bean, and a pinch of salt to a simmer. Remove from heat; whisk 1 cup of this hot milk mixture into the yolks. Slowly pour yolk-milk mixture into milk remaining in saucepan. Place pan over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture reaches 160F and is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.

4. Strain eggnog base through a fine-mesh sieve into bowl in ice bath. Let cool for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, for about 1 hour.

5. Whisk brandy and cream into chilled eggnog. In large bowl using an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar; beat on high until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whites into eggnog until blended. Cover, refrigerate for several hours or overnight, or until cold. Pour into a pitcher to serve. Garnish servings as desired.

Enjoy!

I hope you get a chance to try this recipe out. Let me know in the comments if you do. Or tell me what your favourite holiday recipe is. Maybe we can start our own Harlequin Blog holiday recipe collection?

Every year, when Thanksgiving is over, we put up our Christmas decorations and look forward to the holidays.  When I was a little girl, I used to live in Germany, and my mother bought a chocolate-filled Advent calendar for my brother and me.  I loved running downstairs in the morning to open it at the breakfast table and savor the delicious chocolate treat.

I continued the tradition with my own children, but this past year, I bought them a wooden Advent Calendar where I could fill it with my own treats.  Sometimes chocolate, sometimes gum drops, or even bubble gum.  They adored it, and half the fun was wondering . . . what will tomorrow’s treat be?

The Harlequin Historical authors are creating the same experience for you!  Starting Tuesday, November 29th, you can visit each of us on our advent-style calendar.  You can also join us at the Harlequin Community Boards here to find out what prizes are being offered and where to visit each day.

Special thanks to author Jeannie Lin for designing our advent calendar graphic.

Twenty-one authors will each host a giveaway of a daily prize, ranging from chocolate to gift cards, and even jewelry!  All of the entries will be gathered together for a grand prize drawing of a Kindle Fire loaded with Harlequin Historical books. (See our terms and conditions for eligibility. If Kindle Fire is not available in your country, a comparable Kindle will be offered, plus a gift card to make up the difference in price.)

Each time you click the calendar to visit an author’s web site, she’ll ask you to complete a task.  It might be commenting on her blog, e-mailing her the answer to a question, or becoming a fan on Facebook.  Then, on December 23rd, we’ll use random.org to pick our grand prize winner from among all of our entries.  The more sites you visit, the greater your chances of winning!

We hope you’ll enjoy sharing in this holiday season with the Harlequin Historical authors!

Harlequin is releasing six special 10th Anniversary Harlequin Blaze Collectors’ Editions from the original Sexy Six authors, featuring a brand new story PLUS their first Blaze title. You’ll relive the excitement and discover a new pleasure with authors Kimberly Raye, Jo Leigh, Tori Carrington, Julie Leto, Vicki Lewis Thompson, and Debbi Rawlins. Have a look at what’s in store:

(And, by the way, they’re available for preorder right now!)

Plus, for the next month each Sexy Six author is stopping by to give you their opinion on what TV shows, stories and movies would be “Better as a Blaze”! The authors will be chatting with readers as well. Check out our Harlequin Blaze Anniversary Page for more information (we’ll update it soon, don’t worry!) You’ll even get a chance to win the entire collection! How’s that for a little celebrating? It all starts this week, so stay tuned!

And to top it off, I have a fabulous video from our own Jayne Hoogenberk shot on the Rita Awards “red carpet”. Check it out below the photos!

Neat map created by Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and Carina Press for RWA attendees interested in going sight-seeing!

Delicious Carina Press cocktail. Blueberry infused citrus vodka, fresh squeezed lemon juice, fresh mint, topped with Prosecco. Delish!

The madness that is the RWA Literacy Signing. More than 400 authors signing for thousands of fans!

Author Gena Showalter signing books for fans.

Authors Kat Martin and Deanna Raybourn at the Literacy Signing.

Team HQN Books at RWA.

The Harlequin Black and White Ball at the Waldorf Hotel.

Harlequin Digital Team arriving at the Black and White Ball: Amy, Eleanor, Malle, Larissa and Jayne!

Members of the Harlequin PR team at the Harlequin Blogger Tea

Larissa, Jayne and Danica at the Harlequin Pyjama Party.

And as promised, here is the video from the red carpet! Headphones are advisable.

I was talking to a woman in New York at RWA Nationals and explaining what I wrote. Her response was, “I didn’t know there were cowboys in Canada!”

Well, heck yes there are! Some of the best beef in the world comes from Alberta! Then there are the horses… all set on the prairie with big skies, or in the rolling hills of British Columbia. The farmland is stunning, and, well, so are the cowboys in my opinion. Tall, rangy men with faded jeans and dusty boots and big belt buckles.  Hard working guys with a gentle hand with the livestock and, at least in my book, with the ladies. I mean I love the look of a man in a suit but give me a working man with some calluses on his hands and good honest dirt on his shirt and I’m a goner.

So yeah, I write Canadian Westerns.

This week brings the Canadian West to the world because IT’S STAMPEDE WEEK! The Calgary Stampede is on and there is a reason it’s called The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. And because I lived in Calgary for a dozen years or so, I’m going to give you my top things to love about the Calgary Stampede.

• Stampede Breakfasts. They are hosted all over the city, most of the time for free, or sometimes within companies for the employees.  Pancakes and sausage or bacon is guaranteed, but you never know – you might also find someone dishing up scrambled eggs, hash browns, or baked beans.  The line up at the Chinook Mall breakfast is huge every year – they serve thousands.

  

• Music. The Coca Cola stage is always the scene for great music but there are events happening all over the downtown in the bars and on the Stampede Grounds in Nashville North. This year there are concerts with NKOTB and the Backstreet Boys and Katy Perry, the Coca Cola Stage (which is free) has State of Shock, Down with Webster and Fefe Dobson to name a few, and Nashville North (which requires you be 18 and over) has acts like Aaron Pritchett and Doc Walker. Shine up your boots and get your groove on.
• The Parade! And this year you get to see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in it! This brings new meaning to Stampede Royalty (usually reserved for the Stampede Princesses).  The parade is fab and I think Calgary becomes the Marching Band Capital of the World during parade weekend. We usually stayed away from the crowds and watched it on TV.

  

• The food. Oh dear LORD, the food. I could list many things but I’ll keep it to my two favourites: Barbeque Beef on a Bun and Mini Donuts.  The beef is shaved and tender and dripping with sauce and sandwiched in a big, chewy bun. The mini donuts disappear as fast as they are fried, and they melt in your mouth. Mine’s watering just thinking about it. Not so good for the waistline, but there are reasons why things become traditions.
• The Rodeo! You thought I was going to forget the actual rodeo, didn’t you? It’s exciting – from the women’s barrel racing to saddle broncs to bull riding, the Grand Daddy of events. Eight seconds has never been so long or over so fast.

  

• And separate from the rodeo for me is Chuckwagon racing (aka The Chucks). It is bedlam on the track. By the time you have four wagons and outriders racing around during a heat it’s just crazy and I love it. The Chucks are broadcast every night, along with the day’s highlights.
• The midway. If you like rides and games, you can go all day. Consider the Stampede like a State Fair only times about a hundred.
• The Clothing. This is the one time of year that you look odd if you’re NOT wearing something western – and if it’s hot that might just translate into Daisy Dukes and a t-shirt if you can pull it off (I can’t).  Boots are the order of the day and the rainbow of western shirts and jewelry are always great to see.
• And now, this is the part of the blog where Donna gets a little homesick. Every Stampede week, our church had Stampede Sunday. It was a day filled with old-time gospel music and food and we put together a Stampede Sunday band which included drums, piano, washtub bass, banjo and a few vocalists to lead the masses in a whole blue-grassy kind of worship. During my last summer in Calgary, I played piano and sang in the Stampede Sunday band. And when I get a little bit lonely, I pull out my binder of music and get my foot thumping.

So I guess it’s not much wonder that I love writing Westerns with a distinctive Canadian flavour. I think it’s beyond cool that Harlequin has always supported my Canadian settings and that readers have responded to them so favourably!  Because while I wasn’t born in the west, I think there’s a part of me that will always belong there, and no matter where I am those books take me, for a while, back home.

With a big yeehaw,

Donna

Editor’s Note: Thanks for the great recommendations for Calgary Stampede newbies like me, Donna! Readers, to win a copy of Donna’s latest cowboy romance, A Family for the Rugged Rancher from Harlequin Romance, leave a comment on today’s blog post. You have until 11:59 p.m. EST today, July 12, 2011. Only U.S. and Canada residents may be eligible to win, unfortunately. Those who comment today are also eligible to win a grand prize of all five copies of our featured authors’ books!

July is Harlequin’s cowboy appreciation month. Each book published in the month of July with a cowboy theme can be identified by the Cowboy for Every Mood flash on the cover. We’re celebrating on the blog this week because it is also the week of the Calgary Stampede, Canada’s largest rodeo in the heart of our own cowboy country, Alberta. This week we’ve got featured blog posts from authors Linda Lael Miller, Donna Alward, Jillian Hart, B.J. Daniels and Lorelai Brown from Carina Press to pay homage to the cowboys of their dreams.

What’s in it for you? Well, other than the fantasies we’ll be spinning with all this talk about manly, musky Western heroes, we’ll also be giving away a copy of each author’s book to commenters each day! And at the end of the week we’ll give one lucky winner a full set of the featured books this week!

So I hope you’ll stick around and enjoy our Cowboy Appreciation Week. It’s going to be a rootin’-tootin’ good time.

I’ve been a voracious reader since I was a little girl thanks largely in part to my mom.

At bedtime I often would ask my mom to read me a story, my favourite being the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. My mother used to tell me this story over and over again, until one day, she told me to tell her the story. Here’s the catch: the book was in Polish!

This weekend I had a chance to visit with my mom and I asked her about that book. She started to laugh when I asked her if she remembered reading it to me. She surprised me by revealing she always changed the ending for me. You see, in the Brothers Grimm tale the Big Bad Wolf always eats grandma before Red Riding Hood arrives. My mom would change the story to spare me from the horror of grandma getting devoured, instead making grandma hide while the wolf donned her nightie.

My mom even inadvertently introduced me to Harlequin. As an adolescent I discovered a box of Harlequin Presents in her bedroom and surreptitiously stole one away to my own room where I devoured it, like that wily wolf. My love for romance quickly grew from there. I still think fondly about those salad days when each new book was a discovery into glamorous adult relationships. Who knew that it would one day lead to a job in romance?

All this reminiscing has made me curious! Do you have a fond memory of reading with your mom (or hey, mom’s, do you have a favourite memory of reading with your child?) I would love to hear them! Share it on this blog entry until 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, May 15 to win a Mother’s Day prize pack. This lovely gift includes:

- A soft padded lap-desk with a leather top
- A book light
- A Harlequin 60th anniversary tote bag
- And two copies of each of the following titles (one for you and one to share with your mom or your daughter!)
- SMALL TOWN MOMS by Janet Tronstad and Debra Clopton
- THE GOODBYE QUILT by Susan Wiggs
- A TURN IN THE ROAD by Debbie Macomber

Now for the legalese: this giveaway is only applicable to residents of the U.S. and Canada. For full details, click here.

Hope you’ll share your stories with me. I’ll pick a winner on Mother’s Day!

This morning’s blog post is a quick one. There’s a much longer blog post coming from me this afternoon about something that I’ve decided to do…and I’ll need your help! So look out for that this afternoon.

In the mean time, remember how yesterday was Teen Lit Day? We totally participated! Yesterday fearless Jayne braved the neighborhood peregrine falcons to Rock the Drop with a copy of Jordan Dane’s IN THE ARMS OF STONE ANGELS. Amy tweeted it.

And we found other Harlequin TEEN books getting dropped off, like this copy of Julie Kagawa’s THE IRON KING and this copy of Maria V. Snyder’s  INSIDE OUT in NYC. I scrolled through some of the twitpics of various drops and it’s incredible to see how many people participated. Nicely done everyone. Hope all those books found their way into grateful hands.

The next two weeks at the Harlequin Blog are going to be busy! Next week is dedicated to the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. ‘Member how we talked about it back a few weeks ago? Five of the authors who contributed to the Royal Weddings ebook collection (Terri Brisbin, Michelle Willingham, Bronwyn Scott, Elizabeth Rolls and Ann Lethbridge) have written guest blog posts and they’re giving away a $50 Amazon gift card to readers! Stop by next week to read and enter.

The following week after that is the Carina Press Steampunk week. Guest blogs from Cindy Spencer Pape, Marie Harte, Christa McHugh and Christine Bell are coming your way. To whet your appetites, have a look at the gorgeous Carina Press Steampunk trailer we’ve just released. As Amy Wilkins would say, shiny!

The Real White Bird

by Jordan Dane (@jordandane), author of In the Arms of Stone Angels – Harlequin TEEN, available now

In the Arms of Stone Angels centers on the plight of a troubled teen girl and a special Native American boy. Without a family of his own, he’s in the foster care system in Oklahoma, in search of roots where he can truly belong, roots that lie in the tribe he thought he belonged to, but which never claimed him. For different reasons, Isaac “White Bird” Henry and Brenna Nash feel like outsiders, and that feeling strengthens the bond they have for each other.

My story has several underlying themes, but a dominant one involves the trinity of the darkness of bigotry, being an outsider, and wanting to belong. Often authors write about things to exorcise their own demons and perhaps I am no exception. Being part Hispanic, I had struggled with my ethnicity as a kid until I had to decide where I stood. And that day came in elementary school, eighth-grade. At that time, I had sandy blond hair with green eyes. Except for my last name, no one knew I was Hispanic. And with the prejudice I had seen firsthand, my heritage was a hard thing to claim until that day.

What had happened was that a friend was badgering a dark-skinned Hispanic girl. The Hispanic girl was shy and didn’t speak English well, but I had always liked her. My time of sitting on the fence had come to an end. I couldn’t stand seeing the bigotry and the mean spirited attitude of my white friend, so I got in the middle of it and stopped her in the school yard. I told her that I was Hispanic and if she had an attitude about that, she could take it up with me instead. She looked at me with wide eyes and stammered, completely taken off guard. But I remember that day being important to me. It was the day I acknowledged that being Hispanic was who I was. And that I was proud of it—and proud of the stand I took against a bully, too.

So when I thought about the boy character in my book, I wanted him to be of mixed race where he straddles the line between cultures and doesn’t fit in anywhere. A friend of mine, Susan Johnson, who works in the Sapulpa, Oklahoma library and oversees the Native American cultural section, helped me research my book. And after I described my fictional teen boy, she said, “I know this boy.” She told me about her friend, White Bird and I immediately loved his Indian name. It was symbolic of the underlying innocence I wanted for my character.

Susan had told me the real White Bird is smart and as adaptable as a chameleon, looking for a place to fit in. And although he struggles to find an identity of his own as a young man, his Native American roots are very important to him. Of course my book is a work of fiction, but I want to clarify that the real White Bird is an outgoing guy and he’s never spent time in a mental hospital. I only borrowed his name, with his gracious permission. And through Susan Johnson, I got a glimpse into him that only a friend could share.

Today, after ten years in the foster care system, the real White Bird is out now and living on his own. He has a job and supports himself and is completely flying solo. And because of his charming personality, he has friends who support him like family. Although I might have wished he’d grown up with a traditional family and had things easier, White Bird is the person he is because of everything that he’s gone through, good and bad. And I hope that the admiration and good wishes I have for his spirit shows in my book.